Hello there wrestling fanatics, casuals and shooters alike.
Well, it took awhile for the sting of everything to finally die down. Plus, the next PPV is this weekend so I figured I might as well post what I have on the biggest WWE event of the year: Wrestlemania 32.
My only warning is this: I tried my best to find more positives than I was willing to shell out. The way the matches will be broken down will be like this: A quick blurb of the match, a few highlights (if any), and (since it's been almost the entire month since this PPV happened) the post Mania through this week's effects on the Superstars that participated. Finally, there will be a match rating and an overall rating. (The overall is how the story worked out). This one will be in Match order from Pre-Show through the end. Pardon the excessive amounts of moaning and groaning that will follow this.
Red:Not exactly great.
Green:Either great or serviceable for the match.
Any other color:It's in-between
Match 1:Kalisto def. Ryback to Retain US Title (Salida del Sol)
Kalisto deserves more than pre-show title defenses. He also deserved to have a better opponent. They had a decent match, similar to the Corbin/Aries match from Takeover, but there just wasn't a lot of bite to this one. Bad, lazy buildup and the majority of the crowd not even sitting in the area yet hurt this one a lot.
Since this match, Kalisto has been back to teaming up with Sin Cara....to lose again and again. Ryback, while not exactly on a win streak on main tv, did pickup a victory over Kalisto last night, so I guess he'll get another shot.
3 out of 10 (Mostly for the circumstances. It was a 6 out of 10 for the match itself).
Match 2:Total Divas(Brie Bella, Natalya, Paige, Alicia Fox, and Eva Marie)def. BADAB (Lana, Summer Rae, Emma, Naomi, Tamina) (10 DIVA tag) (Brie def. Naomi w/Yes! Lock)
This match was a little better than expected admittedly, with all 10 divas getting a few spots in here and there.
Team Beautiful and Dangerous and Blond:Lana wasn't ready, Summer didn't stand out, Emma was good (but then again, I was happy she was in the match period), Tamina was meh, and Naomi was the standout in defeat(a sweet split legged moonsault that should honestly be her finisher).
Team Total Divas: Fox was crisp with her Northern Lights and Tilt a whirl backbreaker(but that's like every match so there really wasn't a lot of difference), Paige was the -in peril wrestler (and admittedly, it was disappointing considering the spot she was in last year), Natalya had a good showing, Eva Marie exceeded expectations (I still say...YUCK! But she did ok considering), and Brie stole the show in her final wrestling match for the time being (That was a beautiful set-up into the Yes! Lock). Having Nikki come out at the end was heart-warming (even though I'm not the biggest Nikki Bella fan in the world) so the match and story wrapped up pretty well.
Match: 6.5 out of 10. Overall: 6.75 out of 10
Match 3: The Usos def. The Dudley Boyz
This match was a Snorefest that ended with A)1 super kick to Devon Dudley and B)The Dudleyz being put through tables to a chorus of BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOs
Why this wasn't a tables match to begin with? I don't know. But considering that the Dudleyz are cult favorites and the Usos are essentially associated with Roman Reigns, the chorus of boos were to be expected.
Post Raw: The Dudleyz got their revenge on the Usos in a (Wait...you gave this one away on TV? COME ON! THAT's WCW CRAP!) Tables match....and then started feuding with the debuting REALEST Guys in the Room (Enzo Amore and Big Cass). As long as the rivalry goes longer than their Tag Team Tournament match, this should be good.
As for the Usos, they have been the victims of association with Reigns, so when the Good Brothers of the Bullet Club (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) debuted, the Usos got their asses handed to them. The four men are inserted into the Payback main event storyline so in a way it is good for the Usos....but they're supposed to be cheered. And their failing. So there you go.
Match:1 out of 10. Overall:3 out of 10 (Because of Enzo and Cass....and the Good Brothers).
Match 4/Match 1 on main card: Zack Ryder def. The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Sin Cara, and Stardust (Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship)
Point Blank. BEST MATCH OF THE NIGHT. It gave high spots, drama, intrigue, emotion, and had a booking decision (At least for that night) that made perfect sense. The storytelling was spot on and every person had a crazy highlight of some sort:
Miz had the cocky moment where he ruined Zayn's night
Stardust had the tribute to Dusty Rhodes with the polka dot Ladder
Sin Cara nearly fell off the ladder, only to hit a springboard Swanton style Tope Con Hilo
Kevin Owens back body dropped Zayn onto a ladder and was spiked with a half and half by Zayn onto a ladder
Ziggler hit a boatload of Superkicks
Sami Zayn did a Tope con Hilo THROUGH a Ladder onto everyone but Owens, swiftly followed by a Torpedo DDT through the turnbuckle on Owens.
And Zack Ryder had his WrestleMania moment. 1)Huge Elbow drop and 2)Won the match.
Post booking: Sin Cara is losing as part of the Lucha Dragons, Stardust is jobbing to Apollo Crews, Ziggler is getting his ass kicked by Baron Corbin, Zayn and Owens have a match at the next PPV, and then there were the last two.
Miz won the IC title the next night, partially thanks to the returning Maryse (real life wife of Miz....darn it). Ryder didn't regain the title back and now he's unfortunately back to tagging in NxT with Mojo Rawley (YUCK!). The Miz is defending the IC title at the next PPV against the returning Cesaro.
Match:8.5 out of 10. Post Mania: 7 out of 10. Overall 8.5 out of 10
Match 5/2:Chris Jericho def. AJ Styles
The match itself? Great! The result? Has Vince's fingerprints all over it. There was no logical reason for Styles to lose....it was just for Vince to remind the casual audience: If you weren't made in WWE, you're not better than our guys. While Jericho winning is a feather in his cap, it wasn't necessary. Especially post match considering.
Post Mania: Styles defeated Jericho, Kevin Owens, and a returning Cesaro the next night to win the right to face Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho started a program with Dean Ambrose.
Match: 7.5 out of 10 (1.5 out of 10 for the result and bookingXP). Overall: 8 out of 10 (because of how the post Mania stories have played out).
Match 6/3:The League of Nations (Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Rusev, and King Barrett )def. The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E) (Non Title)(4 on 3)
The match was lackluster. The result was stupid. The fact that they never truly stated that the Tag Team Championships were not on the line was frustrating. Considering that Del Rio admitted the only reason the stable came together was so they could be on the WrestleMania card is insulting. The New Day losing when they're your biggest cash cow on the roster is infuriating.
The good of this match? The Pre-Match entrance of the New Day. A BOX OF BOOTY-Os CEREAL AND The New Day coming out dressed like Seiyans from Dragon Ball Z.
The best(in the moment) part and Worst Part (post mania ramifications):Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out and cleaning house. Nostalgia wise, seeing Sweet Chin Music, Mandible Claw, and a couple of Stone Cold Stunners was great to watch. But it violated one of the biggest sins I've felt WWE has been committing for the last few years: If you have the current roster getting disposed of easily by the stars of the past, it lowers the credibility of today's wrestlers. If the New Day or The League were to dispose of the part-timers, that's credibility that can't be ignored.
Post Mania: New Day def. Sheamus and Barrett for the Tag Team Championships the next night....and Barrett is kicked out. As of last night, the League is now officially broken up. As for the New Day, they still have the titles and have now hosted a No.1 contenders tag team championship tournament. (Hosted by Booty Os).
Pre-Match:9 out of 10. Match:2.5 out of 10. Post Match:6.99999999999999 out of 10. (I can't give this a 7 or higher. I love nostalgia but not at the expense of new talent. The rub of working with someone isn't worth the talent looking weaker to wrestlers who haven't been in a ring in ages.)
Match 7/4: Brock Lesnar def. Dean Ambrose (Street Fight)
The fact that Lesnar was the one on ESPN focused should have made this an easy prediction. The buildup gave this match so much expectation and honestly it fell flat. 13 Suplexes and Lesnar not bleeding in THIS match? Unacceptable. Plus, Lesnar is currently gone from storyline and Ambrose is relegated to his version of the Piper's Pit amongst the stuff they have him doing? *Cue CM Punk at Vince McMahon* APOLOGIZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Match:5 out of 10. Post Mania: 5 out of 10. Overall 5 out of 10
Match 8/5:Charlotte def. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks (WWE Women's Championship Triple Threat match)
The pre-match and Match quality give the match the rating it gets from me. Best Women's match of the weekend and probably the third best match of WWE's WrestleMania weekend. Even with a few spots that didn't exactly work, this match was a fantastic display of the three Divas that have been at the forefront of the Women's/Diva's Revolution. The result even makes sense now that Raws and Smackdowns have past. The problem....is that while the result worked....it could have been better....and a part-timer had an influence on the match. (Yes...Charlotte is a heel. Having her father cheat is perfect heel heat. But the biggest complaint I've had with Charlotte isn't even with Charlotte or Ric....it's the inconsistent refereeing of her matches. I'd feel better about a lot of it if the rules (HA rules in Wrestling) were followed in some form. While Charlotte couldn't have been disqualified, Ric could have been thrown out at any time. And wasn't.)
Bonus: I hope there's a day that Becky isn't the punching bag amongst these Women. Also, Sasha's tribute to Eddie Guerrero made this match great....all the more reason she should have won!
Match:8 out of 10. Booking: 7 out of 10. Post match:8 out of 10 (mostly because the DIVAS Championship is GONE and the new WWE Women's Championship is here and looks so much more important and less like a toy). Overall:8.125 out of 10.
Match 9/6:The Undertaker def. Shane McMahon (Hell in a Cell)
Buildup was great. There was actual intrigue that Shane could win.
The match itself, was meh.....unless you put the spots in. The spots were awesome...especially the quintessential WrestleMania moment of the night: Shane McMahon jumping off the top of the cell.
Undertaker wins, and Shane is carted off like the tragic hero.
Post Mania: Vince McMahon gives Shane control for three to four weeks anyway...because screw stipulations. And continuity. Which is insulting, but resulted in 3 quality weeks of Raws and Smackdowns which I'm HAPPY about!
Match: 6.5 out of 10. Post Mania:8 out of 10. Buildup:9.8 out of 10. Overall: 7 out of 10. (Continuity errors stopped this from being higher.
Match 10/7:Baron Corbin wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
-Suprise entrants: Shaquille O'Neal (who eliminated Sandow.....so BOOOOOOOO), Diamond Dallas Page (YAY! DIAMOND CUTTERS!) and TATANKA (YAY)
-Last person eliminated was Kane.
While it would have been cool for Kane or Mark Henry to win as a legacy statement, having Corbin win was honestly a great pick. Having him follow Big Show and Cesaro as winners not only puts him in good company, but gives him a great starting point on his trip to the main roster.
Battle Royal matches in quality suck on a regular basis, so it's a 3 out of 10 for the match. Post mania: 7 out of 10. Booking and the result: 9 out of 10. Overall Solid 7.25 out of 10.
Match 11/8:The Rock def. Erick Rowan
This was an impromptu match. Bell rang. Rock hit the Rock Bottom, and won.
The positive: Bray Wyatt interrupting the Rock in the midst of a Rock promo that was highly unnecessary.
The negative: Why did the Rock have to come out with a flamethrower to announce the attendance record?
Why did the Rock have to have another record for himself?
Why did he take so much time from other matches (LIKE THE AMBROSE MATCH)?
Why did John Cena come down to help the Rock?
WHAT DID THIS DO FOR THE WYATTS OTHER THAN MAKE THEM LOOK WEAK AGAIN!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!
Post match: The Wyatt Family had a two week face turn that was AWESOME! Then Bray Wyatt got injured. Rowan and Strowman are now jobbing. Thanks Rock.
Xena comes back on Memorial Day....to a pretty good roster, so I'm looking forward to seeing the matches....not as much seeing him beat everyone he faces again. X(
Pre Match: UNECESSARY...1.25 out of 10. Match: UNECESSARY 0 out of 10. POST MATCH: HIGHLY UNECESSARY! -9000 OUT OF 10. Overall: (Casual fans and attitude era fans: 8 out of 10) (Diehards and Wyatt fans: -9000 out of 10) so....2 out of 10.
Main Event:Match 12/9:Roman Reigns def. Triple H (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match)
Reigns won. Was exausted the first and the last time I watched the entire event. The entrances pretty much summed everything up: Triple had a good entrance....WWE botched Reigns's entrance, just like it botched his entire face run from the start to the end of Wrestlemania season. WWE openly tried to lower the mics and fill in crowd noise during the entrances and during the match....and the ending.
Not the response WWE wanted so therefore, this entire buildup for their marquee Title match.....was a bust.
Post Match: Triple H hasn't been seen since. Reigns has started this more cocky response..."Not a good guy....not a bad guy....I'm THE GUY." Reigns is facing AJ Styles at the next PPV for the title.
Pre Match: 7 out of 10. Match 6 out of 10. (Would have been 7 but WWE's blatant attempt at altering crowd noise during the biggest live PPV of the year was insulting and embarrassing.) Post match: 7.5 out of 10. Overall:6.5 out of 10
Overall PPV was a 6 out of 10. Two points off for the crap booking during the PPV, and a Significant two points off for the fact that the majority, if not all the results really didn't have a true effect on the ongoing stories.
Payback preview is up next: And remember....when in doubt, ALWAYS watch Pro Wrestling. Keep following for the previews and reviews in the right mindset.
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